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Tuesday, 30 March 2010

Looks like Adam is seriously sick of lazy interviewers regurgitating the same questions over and over judging by his little twitter rant. The top of the list of most irritating questions for me is meeting Madonna. I mean, how many fucking times has that already been asked and why the fuck would we want to hear the same answer yet again? I thought that Queen rumour should have died the first time Adam denied it. And why the fuck is he still being asked about his brand of eyeliner? I'd also add the AMA controversy to the list too. It was good of him to tweet us a photo at the end of the day unwinding with a beer just to reassure us that he wasn't too stroppy.

I haven't had much contact with German fans so was a little concerned that Adam would disappear into the ether and we'd have a news blackout but thankfully that hasn't been the case. With a new haircut, he was greeted by enthusiastic fans in Munich and he even did an acoustic set. Now I'm feeling rather jealous that we didn't get any performances from him in the UK. Theinterview we had yesterday was fun as Adam entertained us with his attempts at speaking German.

Here's the set. I suspect Bravo are going to release a professional recording soon but impatience and the need to have a full version got me to tinker with frustratingly truncated videos of Sleepwalker.

Friday, 26 March 2010

As I'm being all democratic, I've been doing these in the order of the poll you voted on, so here is the penultimate song in the set, Fever.

Fever is the most fun and camp song for a live performance and Adam seems particularly mischievous and impish in his demeanour. He's like a kid whose parents have just gone out and he's raided their wardrobes playing grown-up dress-up in front of the mirror. The outfit, especially with the feathers and the hat make him seem particularly flamboyant. His movements are so dramatic and bouncy and strutty, but at the same time very graceful with his fluttering limp wrist like a little bird in flight.

Tuesday, 23 March 2010

During Adam's brief visit to Scotland, there was plenty of excitement over whether he would wear it like a true Scotsman, i.e. commando. Well, he was kind enough to tweet us a photo of him rocking the #glamkilt and spiky sporran “It's like having a cactus - a little pet cactus” over tartan leggings. For those of you who'd never heard of it, a sporran is a little manbag to make up for the kilt's lack of pockets, and this spiky one was a gift from some of his fans. I love the hair, which is my favourite effortless-looking style so far. The only thing I would change about his outfit are his boots. The leather on them looks to be beautiful in quality but I think he would have done better to go with something heavier and clunkier because when I look at his lower half, it reminds me of a schoolgirl's uniform!

It may seem like a huge contrast, seeing a handful of dedicated fans as opposed to the scores who lined up on the previous stops to greet Adam, but there are a number of reasons for this. The tour takes in many cities, information revealing his schedule has been last-minute, but the main reason is he's still a relative unknown. Let me tell you about the exposure Adam has had so far. In the UK (population 60 million), we have five terrestrial channels; BBC1, ITV, Channel4, BBC2 and Five, (in order of audience size) which virtually everyone has access to. There are regional variations but altogether, they make up well over half the viewing share. American Idol is shown on ITV2 which has less than a 2% share. To put things into perspective, our most popular soaps draw in regular audiences of 10 million. Last year's X-Factor consistently drew in 10-15 million each week with the final peaking at 16 million. Last year's American Idol regularly drew in less than half a million, with the final at less than 850,000. We can see therefore, that the size of the AI audience is less than 5% of that of the X-Factor. 2012 was a box office success but the audience reach of cinema is comparatively small. So along with a couple of written articles, this was the only exposure Adam has had prior to now. His first single and first album are yet to be released.

Adam's music has now been featured on 4Music, the music channel with the biggest viewing share (though this stands at only 0.3%). Its most popular artists are spotlighted on Channel4 in the 4Music series where they have their own dedicated slots (we need to make this happen). Other popular music channels here include The Box, MTV, VH1 and Smash Hits, each with less than 0.1% share. It goes without saying that the aim for anyone wanting exposure to the biggest possible audience is to appear on prime-time terrestrial TV on shows like X-Factor, Strictly Come Dancing, Britain's Got Talent, Dancing on Ice or any charity telethon. Out of these, I believe only Britain's Got Talent will be on but in the audition stages during Adam's next visit. Over The Rainbow could well be a possibility, though ratings-wise it won't be high as those listed above.

Yesterday was Adam's first UK TV interview on Scottish show 'The Hour', and one of the presenters was Michelle McManus, winner of the second season of Pop Idol who I'd thought had faded into obscurity after getting shafted because of her weight. They did such a great job with this delightful interview, and mentioning Brigadoon was a nice touch. For those who have no idea what Marmite is, I like to think of it as the vegetarian yeast cousin of Bovril, which is beef-flavoured extract. It's a thick dark savoury spread that is supposed to taste meaty. Anyway, it was good to have been spared the usual stupid questions with the actual music taking centre stage for once. I think we Brits feel we're liberal enough to be coolly blasé when it comes to sexuality, so that teamed up with political correctness means it's rather uncouth to ask someone about it directly. One of the situations in which I imagine it may be brought up is in mocking conservative Americans for their outrage. The latest radio interview from Liverpool's Juice FM is full of discussion about the music, including Adam's involvement in the music video. So far, so good.

Sunday, 21 March 2010

When I first heard about Adam heading to Boy George's party, my first thought was WTF? I hadn't heard much about Boy George in recent years apart from tabloid stories about his seriously bizarre (and somewhat hilarious) offence of imprisoning a gigolo and threatening him with sex toys. He hasn't had the best publicity of late but I think Adam would have found it really interesting to meet one of his visual muses and to talk about their shared experience of being heavily influenced by David Bowie.

After some pondering, it seems to make more sense that Adam was there for networking. Most of us remember Boy George for his Culture Club days but he also achieved considerable success as a big-name club DJ, only he was less visible. He did a series of best-selling house remix albums for Ministry of Sound, perhaps the biggest global dance music franchise. I'm not sure whether he still has much clout with that scene, but turning Adam's songs into club remixes and getting them spun along with his dancier numbers could acquire him quite a following. I hope Adam will be marketed more as an electropop-dance artist over here because I don't believe his straight-up rock will do particularly well. Having a club hit before the TV promo circuit reveals his AI connection would certainly be to his advantage for sustaining commercial success. It's prevalent because of the backlash against reality shows' stranglehold over the charts, as demonstrated by our Christmas campaign against the X-Factor winner. The current timescales for Adam's single and album releases rule this out, but maybe it's something to consider further down the line. But what do I know? I don't follow Boy George or the pop charts, but sometimes it's fun to just speculate.

Saturday, 20 March 2010

This is a post mainly aimed at my international friends to tell you a little bit about the UK through my eyes and ears. It's by no means definitive and does contain some affectionate stereotypes. Many people equate the UK with England, but it is made up of more than one country. There is Northern Ireland, Scotland and Wales who each have their own self-governing political systems. There is a fair amount of piss-taking between them. For example, Scots are branded as drunks who live off deep-fried Mars bars, the Welsh as singers with a penchant for bestiality with sheep. There is also a North-South divide in England. Southerners are ponces, Merseysiders are small-time crooks, those in the West Country are country bumpkin farmers and Geordie girls are famed for dressing like slappers (easy women) in little more than skimpy underwear, even in the depths of winter. It's all part of our banter.

The majority of musical influences Adam has cited are British, so I see this visit as a return to his musical home. I hope he's taking the opportunity to delve into the music scene while he's here and find even more inspiration. I'm more of a gigger/clubber so I'm not particularly knowledgable about British pop music and rarely follow the British pop charts. I do know that the singles chart is extremely fickle with songs often entering at the top spot before dropping away rapidly. The album chart provides a much better indicator of what's popular. Both of these charts are released every Sunday afternoon and can be found here: 1.Official singles chart2.Official album chart
We have plenty of local radio stations but the channels with most listeners are the nationwide radio channels provided by state broadcaster BBC. The music channels with the biggest audiences are BBC Radio 2 (adult contemporary), BBC Radio 1 (pop), and Heart FM (adult contemporary).
Pop acts receiving a lot of media coverage at the moment include Florence and the Machine, JLS, Cheryl Cole, Ellie Goulding and Pixie Lott. The closest we have to male artists who would be in direct competion with Adam are Mika in terms of sound, and Robbie Williams in terms of showmanship.EDIT: I've had some additional thoughts since posting and discussing this with some of you so I'm jotting them down. According to my unknowledgeable opinion, the songs I think that have most potential to take off are the electropoppy ones like FYE, Fever, IIHY and DTRH. I don't think straight-up rock such as WWFM can cut it, unless he's already established or it's boosted by use in film or TV. If Adam can get DJs to play his music and remixes in clubs, it will help to earn him cred before he does his TV promo and music snobs realise he's an AI alumnus. His music doesn't get released until late April so for most people here, he's still a relative unknown. It'll be interesting to see how he's marketed as a celebrity here. So far we only really have the NOTW article and the SuBo misquote, which have painted him out to be an edgy and outspoken rebel. Although the references to drug use may have put many off, attitudes here are quite liberal when it comes its recreational use. Celebrities + drugs = eyeroll.

The TV slots where music acts do their usual promotional performances are on shows such X-Factor, Britain's Got Talent, Strictly Come Dancing and Dancing On Ice. It's also common to have performances on chat shows like Jonathan Ross, Graham Norton and Alan Carr. There are music programmes such as T4, 4Music and Jools Holland that show live studio sets, concerts, or highlight specific artists. Artists also get exposure through quiz shows such as the music-oriented Never Mind the Buzzcocks. I'd love to see the exchange of smut between Adam and Norton and Carr, an acoustic set on Jools Holland and Adam headlining a festival on T4. Another wish would be for him to do the intros round on Buzzcocks, where contestants use their voices to reacreate the instrumentals of songs but aren't allowed to sing them. One thing I'd love even more though, is for Adam to make an appearance on Doctor Who as a singing rockstar alien with a fabulously freaky costume.
The British tabloid press is vicious, intrusive and thrives on sensationalist scandal but we know to read it with a huge dose of cynicism. Here's a brief summary of our print media:
Trashiest papers: The News of the World, The People, The Daily Star.
Informative papers: The Guardian, The Times, The Telegraph.
Most popular papers: The Sun, Daily Mail, The Mirror, Metro.
Popular music magazines: NME, Q, Kerrang!, Mojo, Mixmag.
Popular celebrity gossip magazines: OK, Hello!, Heat, Closer, Now.
Popular men's magazines: FHM, GQ, Maxim, Nuts, Zoo.

The country is multicultural with London being the hub. I tend to think of it as a mini world in a city because of the number of nationalities represented. I think Adam would enjoy shopping for OTT rocker accessories in Camden with all its fashion-bold goths and punks. We are a nation of binge-drinkers and drink to get drunk with bars being the venue of choice rather than pubs or clubs. I'm partial to heading to Shoreditch's bars to check out the fashion of arty and new-media types, often ending up at quirky venues for after-parties. And I think Adam might like to take a trip to Soho to check out the abundant prettiness and friendly atmosphere amongst the many gay bars. But he should smooch carefully because tabloid kiss-and-tells are quite lucrative with careers having been built around them. Homophobia is fairly uncommon though the word 'gay' is still used as a mildly derogatory insult. Brighton is our gay capital and same-sex civil partnerships were made legal in 2005. We have plenty of public figures who are openly gay, ranging from politicians to TV personalities to musicians, so Adam's orientation should be a complete non-issue.

Well I hope this is a useful introduction to get you started as you come over here to follow Adam's visit. Please feel free to ask questions and make yourselves at home while I make you a cup of tea!

Thursday, 18 March 2010

As so much has happened since the Fantasy Springs concert, I thought I'd make a separate post. This was the first live performance of Broken Open and came as a very pleasant surprise as I was expecting A Loaded Smile. I wonder if time was running a little short because the band started so soon after the last song and before the audience had time to settle down. Adam looks like he wasn't quite ready either, bottle in hand and unable to steal a sip of water before his cue to start singing. You'd never be able to tell from just listening. The outfit, though fabulous, wasn't the most practical as things seemed to get caught in it very easily. I thought getting tangled and restricting his freedom of movement was one of the reasons why he kept playing with his peacock feather hair extension during some of the other songs.

When Adam's voice sails in, it's sweet and soothes the audience into a swift silence. The atmosphere the acoustic arrangement creates is similar to the studio version where the quivery ethereal quality of his vocals sends you floating away from your real-life troubles. His outstretched arms enhance the feeling of being wrapped in the softest of comfort blankets as you are warmed by the reassuring voice of a close confidant.

Keep your eyes open at the end when he flashes a broad smile and finally gets that sip of water.

For this video, I decided to do more fading effects than usual to try to enhance the gentle floaty feel of the song. The double Adam fading in and out is meant to evoke the feeling of reassurance that there's someone always with you in spirit to help you through tough times and to coax you into healing.

Wednesday, 17 March 2010

I'd been very excited about Adam's visit to fashion-forward Japan, where there is no top to OTT and fanaticism is taken to a whole new level. It must have been quite an experience to have received such an enthusiastic welcome from the thousand dedicated fans who lined up to greet him at Narita. There could be little that's more validating than that and I'm so happy Adam is getting the appreciation he deserves overseas.

Sometimes I wonder what type of creative performances we would have seen from Adam if the AI audience were Japanese. We have been provided with a good glimpse though, and it's a joy to see him so at ease with really letting loose in expressing himself.

His first show on this trip for those few lucky fans was in Club Eleven in Roppongi. Decked out as a dazzling spiky glitterbomb with those now infamously flattering leggings (sans codpiece), he really rocked the joint in a couple of choreographed numbers. I love the setting and think that concerts are so much better when moshing rather than sitting. The atmosphere seems electric, with the videos capturing the feel of the small sweaty underground club of the FYE music video. Except I think these videos do it better because it's less staged and much more authentic. I wasn't keen on the dancers on SYTYCD in Australia, but I think the routines here work much better because Adam is an integral part and the dancers complement rather than do battle with him. Here's the set embedded as a playlist (use the arrows to choose the song) :

This is Adam's first live televised performance of FYE (below, second video in playlist) since the AMAs and there have been some notable changes. The vocal is much improved but the start is still a tiny bit shaky. I think this is because the verses are a little low for him so it's difficult to sing sustained notes with the same clarity and power as the chorus. As with the Roppongi rendition, it's been shortened and I notice that he's been sliding up to the high notes rather than jumping which makes it easier to find the right pitch, and pretty much pitch-perfect he is. He shows off some very slick new dance moves and the routine as a whole is made of win.

And the look! Wow! It appears that he really went with his 'More is more' mantra with make-up that truly is a work of art. There appear to be influences from Japanese kabuki theatre with the eye make-up, enhanced by the rhinestones and thick eyebrows. I think he looks like a cute anime sprite. The fiery colours are quite a departure from the cool colours I'm used to. Those along with the fur, spikes and claws complete a leonine look. Rawr!

OK this is very late but I thought I'd post anyway, just for completeness. The trip started off with a horde of people waiting to greet Adam at the airport who he unfortunately and inadvertently bypassed. There are plenty of videos showing the huge crowds who lined up just to get a glimpse of Adam come rain or shine. One of the things I noticed first was the slightly different demographic of the fans, being younger than their US counterparts. There are somegreatinterviews that came out of this trip.

Here is an embedded playlist of Adam's acoustic set, use the arrows to select the song.

The highlights of this set for me are Sleepwalker with the elaborate riffs, MW and DTRH. I love the upbeat arrangement of MW with that last note being nothing short of astounding. DTRH is full of infectious energy with Longineu's dreads flying about and Adam himself succumbing to the music by getting up and shakin' it. There is something very Michael Jackson about his outfit, from the black sequinned jacket to the white gloves.

Sunday, 14 March 2010

Is anyone else having trouble keeping up with this media blitz? I feel like I'm under a huge pile, continuously trying to scramble my way to the top. Australia gave us plenty of unique and humorous interviews as well as some stunning performances. We've also had the release of the VH1 acoustic set which has been a pain to hunt down to watch if you're not in the US. Here are all the recent performances collected together and grouped by song for your convenience:

Music Again - VH1 Unplugged

The arrangement is bright and the keys are tinkly. Although it's an interesting change, I prefer the electric guitar solo. The biggest noticeable difference about this rendition is the missing jump into falsetto. It's very difficult to get it perfect and since this taping was right after the Rock My Town concert, it was probably better to leave it out. I think it works better anyway with the acoustic set.

Music Again - Nova FM

When I watch this video, I find a strange fascination with the way the fine tip of Adam's nose moves when he sings during the close-ups. Also I can see what Adam meant when he described Longineu as being in his own world.

Mad World - VH1 Unplugged

What I like most about this version is Adam's choice to revert to the high 'Very very', something I've missed and haven't heard him sing since Top 8 night on AI.

Mad World - Marble Bar, Sydney

This is a peculiar upbeat arrangement based on the original Tears for Fears version and sets a very different mood. With energy bubbling out of him, watching those animated hand gestures and Adam's raised knees as he hits those highs is almost like watching him in fast-forward.

Whataya Want From Me? - VH1 Unplugged

This rendition comes with a nice change during 'It's me, I'm a freak' and plenty of variations in the timing. My favourite part is the beautifully smooth falsetto of 'So-o just don't give up'.

Whataya Want From Me? - Nova FM I

Whataya Want From Me? - Nova FM II

In this performance, Adam's voice sounds slightly huskier than usual and he holds back on the high parts. It's also one of the rare performances where we get to see him sing in a studio without audience interaction so his eyes are closed throughout the whole song.

Whataya Want From Me? - Take 40

Adam sounds a little hoarse here too but I love the bridge.

Broken Open - VH1 Unplugged

This is a rousing performance with breathtaking vocals. I love how he used his voice over the instrumental break.

Down The Rabbit Hole - VH1 Unplugged

After the softness of the previous songs in this unplugged set, the dynamic change giving us a rougher tone makes for a pleasant contrast. This is one of my favourite tracks, hectic but such fun and performed very theatrically.

Sleepwalker - Nova FM

This is a stunning acoustic debut where Adam's voice is full of that resonant rock grit which I'm particularly fond of. There is so much I love about these vocals, including the way he belts out 'But you don't wan't me' working in the vibrato, the final 'Eyes wide shut' and his crazy riffing.

Monday, 8 March 2010

I thought this Fantasy Springs video should get its own post because it took a whole lotta love. It's the most difficult video I've done so far, principally because every clip I watched kept luring me in so I'd lose track of what I was doing. Then it would take me a while to get my breath back and it would happen repeatedly.

This for me is a momentous performance, one I will be watching over and over again and one that we'll probably still be talking about in years to come so I wanted to do it justice. So apologies for the delay. I never thought I would feel the way I did about RoF again. I thought I'd built up an immunity to being surprised by Adam by now, but I was wrong.

This is the most incredible psychedelic arrangement and performance of WLL and one of the sexiest things I've ever seen or heard. There's a lot that's reminiscent of Jim Morrison. There are no overt sexual gestures but what he achieves is purely with his sultry voice and stage presence and is so sizzling hot. He slinks about the stage, moaning breathily, his erotic cries startlingly primal. Whereas the previous renditions were pure sex of the sordid aggressive rip-your-clothes-off encounter, this one is a long slow hedonistic tripped-out throw-your-phone-away all-day love-in, teetering on the edge of blissful agony. His voice works you up and down, knowing when to stop you from boiling over but keeping you simmering. Not only does he do this with his voice, but when things are getting too hot, he turns his back, giving you time to ease away from the edge before effortlessly stroking and teasing you right back there again, kneading you into spasms of ecstasy.

I love the smile he gives just before the song finishes. He seems thrilled about turning the audience into a wild writhing mess, knowing that he's nailed it. We do indeed need cooling.

So this is the next stop on this glorious headfuck of a rollercoaster. Now on the right side of the morning, night-owl Adam Lambert's sweet voice eases Australia out of its slumber from a weekend of indulgence.

Less than twenty-four hours ago, it was all about the camp and glam and images of that outfit are circulating fresh in our minds. Our eyes are still recovering from being poked. I never thought that just seeing Adam dressed down would be able to shock me, but that's exactly what it's done. Codpiece. Tights. Studs. Sparkle. Bondage. Plain clothing, bare face. Huh? WTF?!

I wonder how hard Adam ended up partying because in the video he looks a little bleary-eyed with an aversion to the studio lights. If that is the case then good for him. With that hectic schedule (I'm exhausted & I'm not even there), he deserves a good knees-up. I just wish I could look a fraction that good during a stinking hangover.

This is the first time acoustic WWFM has been televised. The rendition is very slow-paced and I notice that his voice has a slightly different timbre. It sounds coarser than usual but I love the rich and resonant tone. He avoids belting the high notes which makes me suspect that he might have a bit of a cold. Even so, it's an honest, gentle performance done beautifully and I think I prefer the acoustic arrangement of the song. What a contrast though, I'm still gasping with shock!

Sunday, 7 March 2010

As if he needs any help making it big down under! This pimp spot at Sydney Mardi Gras was the first time since AI that Adam would be performing at a gay event. I was particularly excited by the fact that he'd have free rein to really push things as far as he'd dare with a license to camp things up.

That entrance! The glitter! The outfit! That codpiece!

Adam seems so free for the first time since coming out of AI and it's such fun to watch. He obviously enjoyed playing up to the audience, dancing, prowling the stage, thrusting his hips and giving some crazy vocals.

While perhaps a little conservative for Mardi Gras (I was hoping to see him in something like his dazzling Halloween creations, but can see he needed to first establish a look down under), 'Adam doing bondage' has still become a huge talking point. The components are very reminiscent of his Zodiac ensemble with the jacket, bare chest, tights, boots and corset, but the look is very aggressive. All those spikes, studs and metal are very hard but they're softened just a tiny bit by the make-up and glitter. And of course we have to laugh at the studded cod centrepiece worn over those cheeky tights; a salute to all the Glambulge gazers out there!

Friday, 5 March 2010

I wake up every morning and the goodies keep coming! For once I avoided spoiling myself with the low quality recording from the Fantasy Springs lobby. I listened to a couple of seconds of it and decided to wait instead.

Written by Adam Lambert, Jesse Rogg, Sam Sparro
“It's kind of like a dark industrial disco song. It's definitely a dance tune,the vocals are like really smooth and light, kind of breathy and the beat is hard and electro so I think you guys will really like it.” - DonorsChoose chat 18/02/10

“It's more of a European sounding track, it didn't quite work in context as well as some of the other songs. It's a sexyass song though.”Fab magazine 25/11/09

I don't have much more to add to Adam's words but I think I prefer the songs that didn't make it to the US album and hope it's a sign of things to come. I can see it being a club hit with remixes down the line, but also used as a soundtrack. The song is well written and expresses the darker side of being completely consumed by love. My favourite part of the vocal (aside from the orgasmic 'Yeah!') is the tone and vibrato of 'all' in the first line of the bridge and the haunting multi-layered vocals towards the end. It's very reminiscent of mid-90's dance and I love the mood it creates. Here are the lyrics as far as I can make out:

Moonshine on the bayou
Love shrine break the taboo
I wanna know what's in your potion
Bound by total devotion

I was looking for love all over
You're the hunter and I'm your prey
Now I'm lost in a love hangover
I try to leave but I have to stay
'Cause it's voodoo voodoo voodoo
Under your spell
'Cause it's voodoo voodoo voodoo
Under your spell

Swamp sings of a love bizarre
Snakes bites, aligning stars
I'm in rapture there is no cure
No sanctuary from your allure

I was looking for love all over
You're the hunter and I'm your prey
Now I'm lost in a love hangover
I try to leave but I have to stay
'Cause it's voodoo voodoo voodoo
Under your spell
'Cause it's voodoo voodoo voodoo
Under your spell

'Cause the voodoo that you do is all that you can do to make me into your fool
'Cause when you do voodoo I'm just like a doll that the pins keep pushing into
So every time I try and break this trance
I'mma so afraid I'll miss my chance
To be bewitched, bothered by you
I just gotta say I want your hex
I don't want to live without your hex
I'm so obsessed with your sexiness

Thursday, 4 March 2010

Adam provides us with yet another strong performance of Whataya Want from Me? from Australia's So You Think You can Dance? getting the crowd screaming.

There's another nice little variation on 'It's me, I'm a freak' and an extended last note on a near-perfect vocal. Although I must say I'm starting to prefer the acoustic arrangement, maybe because I've heard the standard version many times already. It's great to see Adam dress for the occasion with the bejewelled sleeveless hoodie being the closest we'll probably ever get to seeing him sporty. And what a charming little interview it is at the end. One thought that has become clearer to me during this performance is that Adam doesn't need dancers. Even though they were excellent, they were battling for the focus of my attention and somewhat detracting from the performance. Adam is already so visually fascinating, I find by having the dancers there's just a little too much going on.

With next stop Mardi Gras and the opportunity to really express himself creatively and be outrageous, I'm already excited about his next outfit.

Wednesday, 3 March 2010

I didn't stay up for the stream so the first thing I did after getting up was seek out this Leno video. I'd seen it twittered about that the song was going to be Sleepwalker but didn't think much more about this first televised performance because I'm still not quite functioning normally after that acoustic WLL.

As always with Adam, his visual presentation hits me first before anything else and this look is an eye-popping WOW. In all the recent TV performances, he'd been dressed fairly down for WWFM so I wasn't expecting this for Sleepwalker. Looking fabulously glammed up to the max, I realise how much I've missed the dressing up. The huge spiky asymmetric quiff that looks like Sonic the Hedgehog in profile is gloriously OTT. There is something very retro-space-glam about his look, reminding me of both Ming the Merciless and Star Trek but infinitely more sparkly. It's the eye make-up (with rhinestones, bitch!) and regally ornate detailling on his jacket & boots that recall Ming. And despite all the jewels, the cut of the jacket teamed with the stripe down the side of his trousers is rather utilitarian. It must be his captain's uniform for when he's commanding his spaceship. After all, I don't expect him to be flying to Australia in something as normal or earthly as a plane!

I haven't even got to the singing yet. My word. He said he now warms up before performing and maybe that made a difference. I watched intently for any changes on this perfect rendition. The way he belts instead of going into falsetto on 'You're everything that I want' makes a vast difference to the song, delivering the impact that I feel was missing from the album recording. He's so expressive singing with such passion that I can't help but be awestruck. Although I do chuckle slightly as I see that tongue snaking out as he hits those highs. I love that incredible belt as it really gets the song rocking. In contrast, the final seraphic note on the ending is just sublime keeping my eyes wide open, stunned throughout.